The Conjuring is
a…. well, is a great film. Much like my review on Elysium I was going to say “is a great horror film” but unlike my reserved genre labeling holding back
my opinion of praising that film as a science fiction film, this hesitation at such labeling this as simply a great 'horror film' is actually in
praise of the movie here. Horror films can so easily be dismissed onto the pile
of shock gore fest splatter films and the like, that when a real well made scary film comes along, it really does stand out.
I read some other review I don’t remembers who’s but they
pointed out the first thing I too noticed. There is an opening prologue of sorts, with it’s
stark title card, revealing a previous haunting that made this movie have all
the earmarks of the aspirations of making a movie to the likes of The Exorcist. While it’s fails to
deliver on the scale of that horror epic that fact it comes close to that cinematic
high mark in terror, is something to commend indeed.
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| Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston playing parents of 5 girls |
Compared to a movie like James Wan‘s previous
excellent Insidious which dealt in parallel
universes and plains of existence etc… this one was shackled by “based on” or “inspired
by” or whatever they framed this one with the “true events” setting. And while that gray area or “dark” grey area,
if you must, may extend to a lot of leeway in the levitation people and objects
etc… there are some things you just want to say are true for sure, like this
family had five girls… ranging from pre-school to high school age. In fact, the
person I saw this with and I were humorously trying to keep track, when they
had a shot of four of the girls heading to school and we thought we had it… until
we were reminded of the pre-school girl! Any sane scriptwriter would have
lessened the madness of the reality in this scenario!
But like when the paranormal specialists are brought in
along with a local officer the actual mayhem of a simple breakfast among such
a crowd was almost comical in presenting this as a real situation. But any
comic relief or quite moments were certainly offset with real scares and jumps.
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| Lili Taylor playing Hide and Seek |
One scene that puzzled me in the previews was why clapping
hands would be scary, but when the girls are playing a version of hide and seek
that include the three allowed clues of where you’re hiding to the seeker, the
simple game takes on ominous proportions. And the jump factor still works even
though you’ve seen it many times in the previews.
As film progresses you actually find time to separate out
the girls, understand the foreboding of the paranormal specialist and her
history, and the shear stamina of the parents played by Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston who obviously had their
hands full even before they bought the to-good-to-be true countryside deal of a
house from the bank.(When you buy something “as is” in an auction you’re
probably hoping for some simple water damage not a house full of ghosts…) Anyway
the way the interaction of all these people happen really draws you into an
investment to liking these people even the paranormal investigators Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson illicit great empathy for
them and all the children actresses , and so when one girl starts sleep
walking, or the covers are pulled off another, or one sees a little boy in the
mirror of a toy, the creepiness factor really builds.
Now eventually things build from the simple scare of a night
gowned girl suddenly passing in the frame, to objects and people actually being
thrown around the house, plus there’s TheSixth Sense like visions people have of past suicides and such, that build
up to the real scare of the mother slowly becoming possessed by the evil presence
that was supposedly the start of all the others.
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| Vera Farmiga Patrick Wilson |
And while it’s true most of the chills and thrills are all
done without any blood and gore I suppose it’s the gruesome possession and exorcism
that really give it it’s R rating.
The idea of “specialists” seems to have garnered weight ever
since the creepy little lady in Poltergeist,
for instance, even though the investigators Patrick and Vera’s characters are based on real “investigators” Ed and Lorraine Warren that wasn't important to films like the original The Amityville Horror movie even though the same two were involved in
the case because at that time the only “specialist” most people associated with
evil would be a priest.
Even though this movie supposedly took place around the same
time as original The Exorcist that
movie treated science as baffled and
completely inadequate with what cursed little
Regan. Whereas this movie incorporates the sympathies of science to assure the
couple that they “aren't going crazy”. With investigative tools of the time:
automatic triggering camera, temperature changing sensors, and super sensitive audio
equipment etc.. no infrared or ectoplasm thingamajigs of modern day, but you get the idea. But even
here, of course, logic, science and all that tries to give the family foothold
on sanity are subjected to pure evil that must be cast out with old fashion
exorcism…
The possessed devil doll from the prologue tying in with the
Warren’s daughter had some true suspension and horror to it, but was almost was
like Wan had bitten off a bit more than he could chew… unlike the mom who bit off a piece of the police
officer’s cheek causing them to throw sheet over her head..ha!comic relief… So
even though the daughter subplot was a stretch, and the ending is a bit extreme
in it’s chaotic deliverance from evil for the family as children are trapped
beneath floor boards or in the car or I forget where all, the unrivaled suspense
that got us there to the turmoil and whirlwind of an ending is truly terrifying
and extremely well done.
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